USF SLIS: East Coast Connection

This is a picture of the beautiful and relaxing Butterfly Garden at the Coral Gables branch of the Miami-Dade Public Library System.

With all of this talk about the future of the library, I can't help but ponder what the library of the not so distant future will look like, and what the librarian's role will be inside of it. This is an exciting time to be joining the profession, but it's also a time that poses a legitimate threat that libraries will become obsolete, or at least underfunded. I believe one of the questions we are going to have to face is popularity versus purpose. Is it enough to just be popular? A lot of libraries are gaining popularity amongst teens with gaming events. I am not opposed, I think it is a fun idea, and it keeps kids in a safe, supervised environment. Nevertheless, we need to seriously consider what we are trying to achieve. Is our purpose only to increase our statistics, so we can justify budget requests, or are we trying to elevate our communities. I don't think there is a right answer, I just believe that it is important for us to maintain a sense of perspective. We can certainly learn something from gaming activities, people are coming to the library for a new set of reasons. One of which is social interaction. I think there are many ways we can capitalize on that trend; movie viewings, public speakers, poetry readings... I recognize that all of these exist to a certain extent already, but I think the time has come to put a new emphasis on them. The future of the library is a social one.

I had my first interview yesterday for an intern position at within the Miami-Dade Public Library system. I honestly don't know how well it went. I feel that I said a lot of interesting things, but the structured scoring format that the library uses makes me nervous. As I am responding to a question, I feel like I need to say what they want me to say, rather than what I would like to say. Whether or not I get the position, at least it was a learning experience. I prepared quite a bit for the interview, but nothing prepares like experience. My recommendations for anyone taking an interview in the near future is to focus on: What about you makes you a good candidate? What about your work/school history makes you a good candidate? How would you react in a certain situation? Has anyone else had an interview lately, that can shed a little more light on the process?

In my first blog posting of this young website, I posed the question, why is there so much apathy and bitterness in the workplace? My goals were to figure out if first, is it true that there is an abundance of apathy in the workplace, or am I wrong? Second, why should there be so much apathy and bitterness in the library? It is a great institution with a history of successful service to communities throughout the world. Furthermore, we have access to the greatest works of literature and film ever created. The library should be an intellectual's paradise. I do think there is a problem in the library, and I think we better get it straightened out. I don't think there is an easy solution to the root problems that are causing an atmosphere of negativity in the library, but I do know that diagnosis is the first step. The bureaucratic nature of the library can be seen as a root which many of the library's problems grow. I believe the bureaucracy prevents the library from becoming a meritocracy, which hurts performance and fosters ill will. Doing a good job is not enough to get promoted, and doing a bad job is not enough to get fired. People who work at the library seem to quickly develop a sense of entitlement and lose a sense of responsibility. The problem with diagnosing this problem in a bureaucratic environment is that it would probably just lead to more bloat and ill will. I could see the library saying wow you're right, from now on, we want all employees to fill out a daily log of what they are doing at all times, and it needs to be signed by each of your supervisors, and of course we are going to have to create a new supervisory position to review all of the log entries. Another problem with the library is that it tries to hard to be liked and to be hip. Don't get me wrong, I think the library should be hip, but we've got squares reading books by squares telling us how to make our libraries hip. Then, we want to be liked so bad, and are so afraid to offend, that we allow patrons to completely disrespect the library. I've seen people eating full course meals and wiping their crumbs on the carpet, cell phones ringing non-stop, people talking as loud as they want, people blasting music through their headphones. Word to the hipster wanna be administrators being a doormat is not hip. Nothing is more hip than having an awesome collection of the most important books on the planet and the most interesting films, and taking pride in them and insisting your guests do the same. Mostly, I think the bitterness comes from the discrepancy between what this job could be, and what it is in reality. There are no easy answers, but we are young, idealistic students, and now is our time to develop our vision of what the library of tomorrow is going to look like.

I want to start the blogging season off right. I want to talk about some real issues that I don't necessarily see discussed with any depth in the leading LIS periodicals, but I don't think libraries are going to be a force for positive communities until these issues get resolved. What could these pertinent issues be you ask? Must be budget cuts, not enough materials, technology shortages, lack of staff. It must be some issue beyond our power that can never be resolved, because of the bureaucratic nature of the library. Nope, I say, although I do agree that all of those may play a part in creating the conditions I speak of; apathy and bitterness in the workplace. I work in the Miami Dade Public Library System, and apathy and bitterness plague the entire institution from the pages through the administration. I see it every day, and I struggle to determine the root cause. I have developed some theories and opinions on the subject, but I would like to hear from some other people first. Am I the only one who sees this? Is this destructive attitude limited to Miami, or have others seen it too? Do any Miami library workers disagree with me? Maybe I am the apathetic and bitter one, unfairly projecting my own misgivings onto the institution. Lets hear it. Is there a destructive amount of bitterness and apathy among library workers? If so, what are the root causes and potential solutions?